It was a good day for Alpecin-Deceuninck as Puck Pieterse and World Champion Sam Gaze triumphed in the elite women's and elite men's short track openers, respectively, at the fourth round of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Val di Sole, Trentino.
Pieterse won the women's race by just one second ahead of World Champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Ineos Grenadiers) in a two-rider sprint to the line, while Savilia Blunk (Decathlon Ford Racing Team) finished in third place at five seconds back.
"I played my own tactic by riding on the front. I’m so happy I could play it smart in the final and take the win in the end. I thought I would use everything in the course that was hard to spread out the field and make sure I was racing for the podium," Pieterse said.
Ferrand-Prévot suggested she possibly could have played things differently in the end.
“It was fast but a comfortable pace, and I was waiting, waiting, waiting, but in the end, I was waiting too long. Puck attacked many times and was so strong. In the end, she deserved the win," Ferrand-Prévot said.
Alessandra Keller (Thömus Maxon) continues to lead the UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup standings.
In the men's race, Gaze also won by just one second, edging out runner-up Victor Koretzky (Specialized Factory Racing) and Jens Schuermans (Giant Factory Off-Road Team - XC).
“Really good. It’s been a lot of work over the last weeks, and I wasn’t 100% sure what to expect coming here. I’m just really happy to pull it off, have a good feeling and have as much fun racing my bike," Gaze said.
In what was a close race among the front riders, Nino Schurter (Scott-Sram MTB Racing Team) finished fourth, also just one second back.
Koretzky remained the overall leader in the UCI Cross-country Short Track World Cup standings and was pleased with his second place on the day after recovering from a recent illness.
“I’m really happy. If before the race I’d finish second, I would say ‘yes.’ I’m looking forward to resting and having 100% of my lungs," Koretzky said.
